Tag Archives: sacrifice

The roles reversed: When I departed, nearly twenty years ago — so reckless in my youth and dumb — he was the last to disconnect our gazes.

Such had to be the burden of the ones we left behind! And such — the mindless blessing of the ones with great adventures to distract them from the pain of leaving.

What courage it had cost him — to hold the ground and not crumble then, until I turned the corner! And how I would never learn it, until I birthed a child, myself!

And yet, he did: My darling old man. The hero of my lifetime doomed to never disappoint my expectations.

The one to whom my every love would be compared: the ultimate ideal for a man’s goodness. My goodness.

The one who, in tumultuous times, had to commit the ultimate, unselfish act of love — and let me leave in my pursuit of bigger dreams than our homeland could offer. (Would those dreams turn out to be worth our mutual sacrifice? My life is yet to reveal its bottom line. But how I pray!)

And when my hardships happened, oceans away — the one to suffer heartbreaks of a parent’s helplessness and the titan strength of prayer.

The one to not let go, despite the distances and family feuds. (Alas, human stupidity: It never fails to permeate a story.) The one to change in order to keep up. The one — to love and wait.

And pray.

This time, I saw him first!

The crowds of tired passengers were whirling all around him: Loves leaving, in their acts of youthful recklessness or being pulled by bigger circumstances. The lucky ones — were coming home. The floor tiles of the airport endured the writing of rushed footsteps, scoffed wheels of those things that people felt they had to bring along; the punctuation of chic heels of pretty girls; the patter of children’s feet, so blissful and undamaged in their innocence. Tomes could be written if every footstep could be interviewed: The snippets of humanity’s stories that were so often unpredictable, impossible to imagine. But when these stories happened to make sense — when stubborn courage persevered, when love learned to forgive — they found unequal beauty. (Oh, how we could all pray for that! Oh, how we should pray!)

One million more of pedestrians could be packed into the terminal — and I would still recognize my father’s outline. The mind’s a funny thing, of course: Recently, it began to blackmail me with forgetfulness. The first nightmare in which my father had no face — would be the turning point I’d call Forgiveness.

But when I saw him — and I saw him first! — I knew that I would not be able to forget him, ever! Because he was the one I’d spent half a lifetime trying to get back to; the one with whose name I’d christened my every accomplishment; with which I had defeated every failure. He was the love; the never failing reason for it. My starting point and the North Star whose shine I followed to find my way, in and out of grace, and back again.

And when I saw him first and called him: “Oh, my goodness!”

It had to be a prayer, for I had learned to pray — in order to come back.

No cinematic trick can capture the surreal speed with which he turned in my direction. The mind sped up. It knew: This had to be THE memory of my lifetime. This — was where my life would turn its course; and in the morning, I would no longer be the prodigal daughter looking for her homecoming, but an inspired child of one great man.

He turned. The smile with which he studied my departure, nearly twenty years ago, returned to his face, this time, again: It was a tight-lipped gesture of a man trying his hardest not to crumble. The loss had been magnificent; an the return — worth every prayer.

I waved. And then, I waved again. The mind continued turning quickly. It had to remember every single detail of that day, so it could last forever. And fleetingly, it granted me a thought: The manner of my wave was very childlike, as if belonging to an infant mirroring a kind stranger’s hand. But in the moment, I knew no vanity. I cared none — for grace.

When dad’s hand flew up, I noticed: He’d aged. His timid gesture was affected by the trembling fingers and the disbelief of someone who hadn’t realized the perseverance of his prayer. C’mon! There had to be some moments in his life, historical events of giant hopelessness that the entire world endured since last I left, when he, like me, would lose the sight of reason.

Or maybe not. Perhaps, my father prayed! Perhaps, he prayed and bargained with his gods for this very opportunity to persevere life — and see my running back into his arms.

For this one moment, all — had been worth it! My life was worth when my father held me for the first time since nearly twenty years ago.

“There are no events but thoughts and the heart’s hard turning, the heart’s slow learning where to love and whom. The rest is merely gossip, and the tales for other times.” —

Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm

He was young — oh, so young! — but not convoluted at all, which is a rarity in itself. He sat with his body turned toward me at a 45-degree angle, playing with the ice cubes on the bottom of his tall glass; but never letting go of me, with his eyes.

“What are you drinking?” he started up. I could feel it with my skin cells: The kid was NOT into chatter much. He actually wanted to know.

“Um,” I chuckled and looked at my ice-less glass. “Tomato juice.”

And I nodded. I am not a barfly, mostly for that very same reason: I don’t drink. So, I nodded while bracing myself for the irony some tipsy idiot was about to point out.

The kid picked-up my glass and he sniffed it.

That scene! It reminded me of that scene, in a quirky film about doomed love: She asks him for a piece of chicken, and without his answer, takes it. Just like that! She reaches over and takes a chicken leg from his paper plate; and he is immediately disarmed at her lack of pretense and the intimacy at which he’d had to do no work, whatsoever.

The kid put down my glass, exactly into the water ring it had marked on my bev nap earlier. Then, he nodded and pouted with his lower lip:

“That’s cool!” he said, without showing me his version of a deprecating smirk.

My self-defense was unnecessary, here; and all the jokes at my own expense popped, like soap bubbles on a child’s palm.

I had been approached by men at bars before (and I had been approached by women, as well). Most of the time, with their courage slightly loosened by liquor, they negotiate their desire immediately. But they’re never drunk enough to say it bluntly:

“I want your sex,” for instance.

Or:

“I just want to fuck around, for bit. Is that okay?”

Instead, they loom, while flirting clumsily and waiting for me to bite the bait. It’s amusing, most of the time, to observe the habit of other people to get in their own way. (It’s also the reason I don’t drink: I like to watch, instead. That; and the fact that my sober tendencies of getting in MY own way — are already quite sufficient; and I needn’t be drunk to get a clearer look at myself.)

Soon enough though, the men get distracted: Their drunken charm refuses to work on me. What they don’t realize is that their honesty might’ve gotten them a lot more.

Eventually, they move on though — to someone easier, I suppose. But while they loom, my drunken courtiers sneak peaks at other barflies — and butterflies — with whom their charm wouldn’t happen in vain. They’re always pretty, those other girls, and more willing, perhaps. So, I let the men move on quickly:

“Go loom elsewhere, honey. It’s okay. Really.”

But this kid: He was different. He would study the other women openly, and sometimes, at my own direction.

“SHE — is gorgeous!” I’d mutter into my thin straw; and so, he would look, in silence.

What was he looking at, I would wonder? Was it the silky shimmer of her brown shoulders? Was it the beauty mark revealed by a backless dress? The curvature of her rear? The endlessness of her naked legs leading up to heaven?

What was it like to be so young — and to want so much?

So, he would look at the other women, but then return to me — always. He was one of those: The type that tended to hit things right on the nose. He would ask me questions that would make me shift in my seat; and under his examination, I, too, began studying the girl in a wraparound dress with no underwear lines, anywhere along her body. I was studying — me.

I surprised myself when I asked him about his mother. I could feel her, distances away, praying that her son was under the care of only good people. Only good women. She would have a confident face, I imagined, just like her son’s: With no ticks to betray her habit of getting in her own way. I couldn’t possibly know the extent of her courage yet; what it was like to let her child leave her watch. But I was pretty sure that if I were a mother, I too would hope — and I too would pray! — for the goodness of other people. Of other good women.

He spoke of her willingly. It was unlikely for a young man to be aware of the sacrifice a mother must make. But this kid — this young man — understood the courage of a woman’s heart: The courage it took — to be a good one!

“I’m not sure what it is…” he would say to me later. “I’m not sure what it is — about you.”

His hands would be steady: They knew the common crevices along a woman’s body; but he had yet to learn the specificity of mine.

“It’s just sex,” I’d tell him, “and that’s okay. Really.” And I would cradle his head, brush his hair and soothe his eyelids.

He was under a care of one good woman. And the good woman, waiting, praying for him from distances away, had absolutely nothing to worry about, that night.

There is a passion, in all of us. It boils. It protests: In Rome*, Yemen, Africa**. It pushes to break us out of our skins — out of our boundaries; shackles, limits, laws; cowardice — and to rebel.

Some have chosen to live quietly, getting by. They seem to cause the least conflict. And if on occasion they hurt one another — it will be most likely by accident. A tiny demand will rise in their souls — a tiny rebellion against obedience that has seemingly earned them nothing.

“So, what’s the fucking point?!” I ask.

And they reach for something that the rest of the world won’t miss much. They reach with passion. There may be an accidental victim: He’s gotten in the way of their reaching.

But what’s a little hurt — against a lifetime of groveling?

Nothing.

Others manages to tangle up their egos in the chalk lines of the score board that keeps track of the rat race. They are a special clan: They measure life in numbers. In things. In values. Passionately. To them, there always seems to be a deadline in life, called Work Until:

Work Until: They get tired of playing. Work Until: They gain a debt, then pay it off. Work Until: They have a piece of land, for a house or a deathbed. Until they pay off a palace, a chariot, a marriage, a child’s tuition: A Happily Ever After.

Work Until: They never need to work again. Work Until: They can rest. Work Until…

Nothing.

Their days turn into discardable minutes: Five minutes — Until. Thirty years — Until. Another person’s life — Until. Until, Until, Until, Until. They pump themselves up against the lackluster crawl of the minutes. They lose themselves — in things, in numbers. In scores. With passion.

Some actually manage to get there: God bless ‘em! They get to their anticipated Until, for the sake of which, they’ve sacrificed so many minutes. And some have even sacrificed their truths. Their passions.

That’s when the real horror happens: At the end, they soon discover that nothing, in life, lacks a price.

Nothing.

And they find that the price of Until usually turns out to be gastronomical: Greed. Sacrifice. Health. Denial. Nothing.

And that shit isn’t refundable!

“So, what’s the fucking point?!” I ask.

And:

What happens to LOVE — I ask — in such a lifetime of Until?

Find me a man who knows the answer to that. For I have asked too many men who’ve given me mere accusations in return. Something about time, or timing. Readiness and plans. Something about their Until. I couldn’t really stick around for their explanations for long: Their fear was eating up their faces — and my time. So, find me a man who knows the answer to: What’s the fucking point?! I find me one who answers with passion.

Oh, and don’t discount those poor suckers born with extremely sensitive souls.

But what happens when they don’t? Well, then: Please, say a prayer for those poor suckers: A Hail Mary for the Sensitives. For they are stuck here, among us, with no delusion to save them from the ache. And no Until.

“Oh, but everyone aches!” the others object.

Still, the sensitives get the worse of it, in this life. They stumble around, among us, like unwanted orphans. Like innocents.

“But do YOU ache?” they ask.

Poor suckers! They insist on hitting the truth on the nail. It’s so annoying!

“Everyone aches,” the others object.

The sensitives study our faces for signs that they aren’t the only ones feeling this much. It’s innocence, at its worst. It’s passion.

“Then, what do you do — to cope?” they ask.

“Nothing.”

So, they devote their lifetimes to taking notes. They write down our words, then regurgitate them, in a prettier form: Poetry. Others jot down their sketches, finding beauty in our fear-eaten faces. And innocence, or whatever is left of it. Passion. Some put on reenactments:

“Wouldn’t this make for a better picture, in life?” they ask.

The others scoff, look away.

They do not have the time for truth — Until…

They do not have time — for a revolution.

No: They would rather spend their lives suspended until the arrival of Until. Or, they spend their lifetimes — groveling.

Surely, there will be small griefs that happen until the Until, and they’ll complain and demand attention. They’ll demand a change, but only enough of it — and only if it’s convenient — and never for the sake of others.

Because everyone aches. And there is nothing to be done about that.

Nothing.

But what would happen if we gathered our passions into a fist and planted a punch?

Trying to write at a coffee shop: This nomadic lifestyle of mine is slowly taking a toll on me.

The joint that I’ve chosen is not on the beach, but it carries the name of one. And it comes with a specific array of noises. Noises and egos.

They aren’t corporate egos, thank goodness. They belong to life-long outcasts and beautiful, quirky kids who are stubborn and mad enough — to keep at their stories: At their art.

Like this tatted-up boy right here, with bleached hair: He is smaller than me. He walks in through the glass back door, smiles sheepishly; grabs the handle before the door slams and shuts it, slowly. Quietly. He knows there are others here — stubborn and mad enough to keep at their stories. To keep at their art.

Just look at him! I betcha he’s got a story or two, and he’s most likely figured out his medium by now. So, he’s certainly gotten himself a hefty ego. And that ego nags — until each story is told: on paper or on his skin, or braided in between the strings of his guitar.

The boy leaves. I notice that the bleached hair is actually brushed into a well-sculpted mohawk. He does the handle thing again, looks at me, from the other side of the glass door; smiles sheepishly. Thank goodness — for his specificity!

Shit! I’ve gotta focus. I still haven’t written, this morning.

I walk over to the counter. I can tell by the way one barista is bickering at the other, under her breath, that the two ladies aren’t really getting along. This one: brown, pretty, with striking gray eyes is yanking the handle of the espresso grinder like she means it. I catch myself wondering if her wrist hurts at night, and if that shoulder of hers needs healing. Does it makes her moan, at times, about “her fucking day job”? Does it fuel her stubborn madness — to keep at her stories? To keep at her art?

Just look at her! By the way she arches her eyebrows and tightens her mouth, I know she’s been doing this gig for a while. And she’s really good at it. There is a routine in her movements:

Yank, yank, yank, yank. Swipe across with a single forefinger. Press down the tamper, tap the side with it. Press down again. Brush away the loose grinds. Get ready to brew.

This girl is a virtuoso! She’s found art in the most mundane of occupations.

Okay. Shit. Focus. I still haven’t written, this morning.

The girl taking my order is also the one working the milk steamer. She is a bit bossy. Some may even call her “bitchy”. “Tightly wound”. “With prickly temperament”. (I would know: I get called those things — all the fucking time!) I watch her maneuvering each pot of steaming milk above a paper cup.

She reminds me of a woman conductor who has once taught me music: That older creature of grace was an untypical occurrence, an exception in the world of classical music. This one — must be some sort of an artist as well. And I wonder if she’s got the balls to be a pioneer, in her very specific thing.

“Hey, now!” she says to a young skater boy who struts into the joint, through the glass back door. He has a headful of African curls tamed with a backward turned cap.

And on top of that, there is a hysterical rockstar screaming over the radio speakers. I’ve been in enough of these joints, over the course of my nomadic lifestyle, to have learned good music. This — is not good.

The radio goes silent. I look back: The bossy counter girl is messing with the radio stations. A sweet reggae beat takes over.

The boy in a hoodie, at the table next to mine, starts nodding his messy head. His face is wrinkly with pillow marks, but it’s intense. He is so young, yet already so specific.

Just look at him!

Shit!

Focus!

Write!

The tatted-up boy with bleached out hair returns to use the bathroom. He does the handle thing.

The bathroom door opens: A youth of about twenty rolls out of it, in a wheel-chair. Damn!

He passes me. His face is kind. He smiles.

The girl with earplugs gets up, packs up quietly. Leaves through the glass back door. Does the handle thing.

A Mexican stunner walks in: Long black hair, butterflies instead of eyelashes. She smiles at me, full heartedly. Does the handle thing.

There is so much beauty in specificity! There is so much beauty in compassion! And it makes it so much easier — to keep at my art.

“Shit! Let me get this for you!” I leap out of my seat, to help a lovely young mother who’s trying to get through the glass back door, with her hands full.

I smile, hold the door; say: “No problem!” And quietly — do the handle thing.

“You think? You forgive because if you don’t — you are the only one you harm. Right?”

I put the book of Mexican recipes face down onto my chest. Think about. I can’t be flippant when speaking of forgiveness:

“Something like that.”

That still sounded flippant. I amend:

“I forgive because otherwise it’s too heavy. It becomes spite, or even hatred.”

I actually think I am allergic to both. This last time around, I wore a rash on my chin until it stopped mattering, I guess.

I continue:

“And I forgive because I am still looking for new stories. When there is no forgiveness, I just keep replaying the old one too much. Until I get sick of it. Until it stops mattering, I guess.”

Until I get sick of it. Is that what happens with me, eventually: I dig for reasons, I cross-examine for long enough to get sick of the whole story? Because most of the time, the reasons don’t become apparent. Not completely. There are glimpses, of course; and most of them are rooted in some sort of pleasure — or satisfaction at least — on the part of the other.

The people who wrong us seek something that they think they deserve. They deserve us: our goodness, our sex, our beauty.

And some would call that love.

“What would you call it?” he asks me. He is lying on his side, facing the wall, away from me. The wall is baby blue.

“I dunno,” I say, pick up the book with the Mexican recipes and start flipping through it again: I am done figuring it out! “I dunno! But I definitely don’t call it ‘love’!”

The pictures in the book are delicious. Delectable. I secretly daydream of my future bakery: It would be so good for my soul!

“Love ought to be selfless,” I resume. I guess I am not done figuring it out. “I love for the sake — for the benefit — of the other person, as much as I do for my own.”

“That’s not true!” he says and finally rolls over onto his back to look at me. “I’ve seen you love, love. You often love — despite yourself.”

I want to laugh but feel slightly defensive: “Well. That’s just what I do!”

I get a mighty hold of the book jacket and start skipping the section on meats: I don’t want to know!

He is waiting for the rustle of the flipping pages to stop. “That’s what you do alright. But that’s not good either. You can’t keep sacrificing yourself like that.”

I still want to laugh.

“At least, at the end, I needn’t be forgiven,” I say.

I’ve found some great comfort in that, before. Even pride. Because when I leave, I don’t take much with me. I don’t take away a former love’s dignity. I don’t destroy the self-esteem. And I only carry away the things that have always belonged to me.

So, no: I don’t take much with me. And I don’t take away much either. But the weight of trying to forgive — is quite heavy, and I choose to lug it with me for a while. Until it stops mattering, I guess.

I dig. I cross-examine. I recycle. I search for the reasons until I realize that the reasons may never become fully apparent. There are glimpses, of course. But the consolation they offer aren’t strong enough of a painkiller. So, I continue to dig, thinking that if only I find all the reasons — it will stop hurting completely.

“But how much of yourself do you leave behind?” He is now staring at the ceiling. It’s white.

I stop flipping the pages, put down the book face down onto my chest and start staring at his spot as well. (Are those fingerprints on the ceiling?)

I may leave. I may take the things that have always belonged to me. But when I keep the connection — just so that I can continue cross-examining, digging — I linger. And in lingering, I leave parts of me behind.

How do we forgive the people who have wronged us?

I am afraid that my previous “how” — is just a theory, and with time I’ve learned that it doesn’t really work. I never find the complete reasons: I only find reaffirmations of the others’ previous choice to wrong me. The original choice to deserve: my goodness, my sex, my beauty. My generosity. My love.

And then, there is this forgiveness:

“Time,” he says. “You give it time.” He is still staring at the ceiling.

“Kinda like putting it to rest? long before it’s ready?” I am studying his spot: Fingerprints.

If I put it to rest, the story won’t stop mattering. Instead, it will remain as a tale of Just Because. And I have to have enough patience — enough self-love — to leave it at that.

Because there are glimpses of reasons, of course; but not even the most powerful empathy can make me understand these reasons completely. So, I should just let them be theoretical. Otherwise, it’s too heavy. And I only harm myself.

And after enough time, the reasons stop mattering completely.

I let it be — I let them be — in time and silence.

And I let myself be light and kind, as someone who needn’t be forgiven.

Any grandiose endeavor by the human mind, soul or imagination takes time to build. Or in the words of my gorgeous lover:

“Anything worth having — takes a lot of hard work.”

Which is exactly why I was never a believer in the bullshit fairytales of Big Breaks and Overnight Sensations.

First off, I wasn’t born here; and neither was I a lucky bastard to be born to a family that would support me. Quite quickly — oh, say, by the age of five — it became clear that not only was capable of taking care of myself, I was expected to do so. So, when I left the anarchy of Motha’ Land’s last decade of the 20th century, I didn’t climb off the boat at Ellis Island expecting to tread upon pathways paved with easy money and other people’s easy “yeses.” I was ready to bust my slim, tomboyish ass and earn my way; and I was NOT willing to make my step heavier by stuffing my mind with delusions of lottery fairytales.

And thusly, I did. Oh, how I did that, my comrades! For the sake of mere survival at first — for a decade! — I worked anywhere between two to five jobs while carrying a full-time class load in college and grad school; and then — as any American — I decided to practice my right to pursue a dream. And, let me tell you: This cat went for it! Trying out every major in college. Entertaining dozens of professions. Taking-up internships on the Isle of Manhattana, just because she could. Trying her hand at every art form, at least once. You’d think this wild cat actually had nine lives to spare! (All the while, the list of survival jobs and sleepless nights and financial sacrifices continued to accumulate.)

Now, if you’ve chosen to settle in either the metropolis of LA-LA or the other Center of the Universe (love you, New York — but it’s complicated with us!); you know that everybody is trying to be a Somebody. That’s the reason for these two opposing cities’ magnificence and an occasional cause for annoyance. But if you’ve come here to participate in the race, you’ve most likely been made a witness of the following event. Say, a Somebody’s name comes up. Or better yet, that Somebody appears in a national commercial while you’re vegging out on the couch with your aspiring actor friends. You KNOW, there is going to be someone to holler:

“OH! THAT’S MY FRIEND!”

Yep, we live in a close proximity to other people’s dreams coming true. I myself have a couple of comrades who are either on the verge of their first well-paid job of significant exposure, or are already working actors and writers. And I’ll tell you this: There was nothing “Overnight” in the pursuit of their dreams. Just like the rest of us, they worked restaurant jobs and temp gigs and those soul-draining office jobs, at all of which they’ve been painfully overqualified, yet underpaid. They’ve wasted their days in the soul-draining background holding areas and did the grind of audience work (otherwise known as the Freak Show of Humanity). So by the time their personal Big Ben struck the hour of the Big Break, those hustlers have paid their dues. They’ve done the legwork, you see; have knocked on dozen of doors; mailed enough head shots and reels and clippings to pay for a house downpayment. They’ve been tortured by doubt and daunting competition and endless rejections.

My personal fascination is always with the journey that takes after the Happily Ever After. What happens after the Big Break; or in the morning when you finally wake up as a Somebody? From what I’ve witnessed:

— First: Your friendships get tested. If you’ve had the balls to reach for any dream of seeming impossibility, you better be equipped with the self-possession and the courage of rediscovering the true content of your friendships. Some of your people will stick around, god bless their exceptional souls (at which point, I pray you have the wits to claim them as your permanent family). But others — will flake off! Be prepared: Some friends will demonstrate very odd behavior that’ll leave you feeling disappointed or lonely. So, may your god of choice grant you the wisdom and the grace to handle the life-changing reshuffle.

— And then, there will always be an army of acquaintances who will want a piece of it: A piece of your Somebody-ness and the overdue prosperity that most likely comes with it. Again, keep clutching on to your chosen people; because after the noise hushes down, they’ll still be the only ones having your back.

— Finally, my favorite part: And the work — continues. From what I’ve learned in my insignificant yet loaded with turmoil eight previous lives: The work never stops. And to that, I say: Mazel tov! If you’re one of those lucky dreamers to grab at least a handful of what you’ve reached for, may you continue to ask for more. So, here is to your endurance and patience, your courage to dream and the balls to handle the consequences!

I bet it is your ambition and your courageous pursuit of your dreams that makes me adore you. But I have seen some of you slip up — but never crumble — on the way to your conquests; and in those vulnerable seconds I could NOT have loved you more. Because it is in the way you chuckle when you pick yourself up; the way you rise up again, albeit embarrassed; the way you mend your torn-up clothes — with dignity of kings!; the way you bite your lower lips when I tend to your scratches; and the way you brush off your shoulders from the hail of the words of haters — in all that you teach me the merely invisible line between pride and dignity. And then you take off again, pushing yourself with your impatience, or your fear of not mattering.

“Gotta get somewhere! Gotta become something!”

Last night, a beloved woman best compared to my personal Mother Teresa was beating herself up in our phone conversation. She has experienced motherhood late in life, and instead of living for the sake of her daughter alone — she went back to school. Astonishing! Off she went, my kindest LA-LA heart, pulling along a full-time job, a full-time class schedule — and a frigging stroller.

“I’ve got to do this for my daughter!” she flagellated the soft skin of her back with her frustration at the current, undeserving employer and her impatience with the world’s injustices; and the self-imposed pressure to be a better parent.

The last time I’ve encountered that mentioned girl-child, born so smart she conjugates her verbs better than most grown-ups she meets at her play-dates, she wasn’t asking her mother to become better. Her mother’s time — was all she wanted. And who could blame her: In the company of my girlfriend, every person feels fully received, understood and unconditionally accepted. Oh so many times, my red-headed Mother Teresa had gotten an earful from me about the errors of my underserving men or my own sins against my self-worth. Yet, she remained nonjudgemental, kind — just the way a mother is supposed to be. So, the only thing I miss about her these days — is her company. Her time. Her very being. To me, she is perfectly enough; and I bet that little brilliant child of hers feels the same way.

“Well! I’ve gotta do this, for myself!” my favorite redhead concluded last night, after a couple of my meek objections.

A’right! NOW we’re talkin’! The most stubborn advocate of learning, I shall not disagree with this woman’s ambition to better herself — but she better not pull that sacrifice card on me, or on her child. Do it for yourself, your own high expectations of your humanity. But in the mean time, please: Treat yourself with a lil’ bit more kindness, will you?

Now, I wish I would live by my own sermon, my comrades. Having skipped out on sufficient sleep for a month now, I am tearing through time that passes way too quickly while my dreams seem to move way too slowly, crashing the face of every clock I encounter on my way like a petulant child who’s not fond of hearing “Nyet!”. With each new wrinkle underneath my exhausted eyes, I’ve been chalking-up the sacrifices committed for the sake of my future, accomplished and seemingly overall better self.

“Gotta, gotta, gotta!” I mutter in my lover’s bed; and he — Shiva bless him! — tangles up his callused, manly hand in my hair and whispers me to sleep.

Okay! I promise: Tomorrow I shall rest!

…Yet already, my to-day’s heavy schedule is scratching at the front door, like a homeless, scrawny cat I’ve made a poor choice to feed every once in a while. The sound of everything I’ve “gotta” do is speeding-up my heartbeat and making me slightly nauseous with anxiety. Just like always, I bet I shall accomplish every one of my “gotta’s” with grace and efficiency; and when I do, I promise to celebrate with a cup of brutally-brewed black Russian tea, with brown honey. And during my rest stops — my breathing breaks — I shall let my beloveds remind me of my magnificence and demand my time and company; for it is in the shared moments of slowness that I tend to feel most accomplished and merely enough.